Compress
a PDF.
A PDF too heavy to send? Compression reworks the images and rewrites the file more tightly. The text stays sharp at any zoom. Free, processed in France.
- tool.pricefree 0 €
- tool.installnothing to install
- tool.retentiondeleted after the job
- tool.hostingFrance 100%
Your files are processed on servers in France and deleted automatically once the job is done. More on security.
What it takes, what it gives back
- You uploadOne PDF file, up to 100 MB
- What happensThe images are reworked and the file is rewritten more tightly
- You get backThe same PDF, lighter, under the name of the file you sent
- SafeguardIf the document cannot be made lighter without harm, it comes back as it was
- RetentionNone. The file you send and the file produced are erased once the job is done
Three steps, nothing to install
Upload your PDF
Drop the file you want to lighten. Up to 100 MB.
The document is optimized
The images are reworked. The text is never touched and stays sharp at any zoom.
Download the lighter PDF
Your files are deleted once the job is done.
Three situations it was made for
An attachment your mail server refuses
Gmail stops at 25 MB, Outlook.com at 20. A scanned document often sits well above that, and compression is usually enough to bring it under.
A document going online
A PDF published on a page has to open quickly, including on a phone. A lighter file starts showing sooner.
An archive folder that has grown
Years of scanned paper take up several gigabytes. Compression buys space back without touching the text.
What the tool actually does
What gets compressed is the images
In an ordinary PDF the text weighs almost nothing: the bulk comes from pictures, and above all from scanned pages. Compression reworks those. The text itself is never touched, so it stays sharp at any zoom, and it stays selectable.
An already tight file will not shrink
If your PDF has been compressed before, or if it holds nothing but text, the gain will be small or nil. That is normal: the file is already at its weight. When going further would harm the document, it comes back as it was rather than degraded.
Compressing and archiving pull apart
Making a file light enough to send and making it last are opposite goals. If the document has to survive for years, keep the original, and read what an archival format asks of it on the security page.
Before you upload anything
Is the quality of the PDF preserved?
The text stays sharp in every case: only the images are reworked. And if the document cannot be made lighter without harm, it comes back as it was rather than degraded.
How much lighter will my file get?
It depends entirely on what is inside. A document made of scans can lose most of its weight; a text-only document almost nothing, because it is already light.
Does the text stay selectable?
Yes. Compression does not turn pages into pictures. A PDF whose text could be selected still can afterwards.
Can I choose the compression level?
Not on this tool. It applies one optimization, the one that keeps a document readable and printable.
Is the tool free?
Yes. Compression is free, with no sign-up and nothing to install.
Is there a usage limit?
Files are accepted up to 100 MB. After about twenty jobs in a day from the same connection, the tool offers you a free account so you can carry on.
Are my files kept?
No. The file you send and the compressed file are deleted automatically once the job is done.
Where are my files processed?
On servers in France. Your data stays in the European Union, under the GDPR.
More questions about the tools? See the toolbox section of the help centre.